The Miami Heat reportedly passed on the opportunity to trade Terry Rozier for Marcus Smart, a decision that comes across as blasphemous considering the former’s $26.6 million salary makes him wildly difficult to move. And yet, despite how badly fans may want Rozier elsewhere, the Heat made the right call when weighing all the details.
Chief among those details: The Washington Wizards wanted draft compensation for taking on the 31-year-old guard, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. That makes sense on their part. Neither Rozier nor Smart is coming off a banner year, but Miami’s embattled guard is more expensive. Plus, as Smart’s eventual deal with the Los Angeles Lakers following his buyout showed, there was clearly a market for his services. Rozier cannot say the same.
Yet, even if you believe Smart is the more valuable player heading into next season, the Heat made the right call by steering clear of this trade. They have no business giving up any future draft picks unless it’s for a star. Smart isn’t that. Far from it.
The Heat don’t actually need Marcus Smart
Injuries have limited the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year to just 54 games over the past two seasons. When he has taken the floor, he has not been nearly as transcendent as a stopper, and his offense has largely fallen off a cliff since being dealt away from the Boston Celtics.
Counting on a healthier, more optimized version of Smart next season is somewhat fair. But the Heat don’t need him.
Davion Mitchell is clearly the more exhaustive point-of-attack pest right now. Smart’s positional malleability would still hold utility; he can guard some 3s and 4s. The Heat don’t need that, either. Haywood Highsmith, Andrew Wiggins, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. give them enough combo-wing juice. The same can be said for Pelle Larsson, and Keshad Johnson.
If anything, even after stealing Norman Powell, Miami needs to prioritize shooting. Smart is a career 32.5 percent marksman from deep, with a smattering of outlier seasons. It is far more likely that Rozier, a 36.1 percent shooter from distance for his career, delivers more punch from beyond the arc.
Terry Rozier could be the more valuable midseason trade chip
Smart’s primary value to the Heat would have been his $21.6 million salary (pre-buyout), which was $5 million cheaper than Rozier’s 2025-26 price point. That difference doesn’t matter nearly as much given the team’s other body of work.
Sure, if Miami wanted to duck the tax entirely, this would have gotten it there. But it’s currently inside $1.5 million of skirting that threshold, and has until the league calendar resets next summer to shed that money.
Relative to how much both guards’ standalone value has fallen anyway, Rozier’s expiring salary could prove more useful than Smart’s money heading into the trade deadline. Let’s assume the Heat’s books stay the same. Dealing Rozier alone allows them to take back a player making as much as $30.7 million while staying underneath the first apron. Moving Smart on his own, meanwhile, would have let them bring back a player earning around $30.1 million.
That’s a small difference—but it’s still a difference. More than that, any big-time swing the Heat make won’t be a one-for-one transaction. They’re on the “Wait for Giannis Antetokounmpo” trajectory. Matching his salary ($54.1 million) or another star’s contract will require combining multiple deals. Rozier’s added money is more useful in that scenario.
Yes, if the Wizards were willing to do this rumored trade straight-up, it would be worth a discussion. They weren’t, and so, it wasn’t.